Leave Behind, Take Forward
Adrian Thornton

As we come to the end of the year, I want to invite you into a simple but powerful practice. We’ve done this before as a church: writing down one thing we want to leave behind, and one thing we want to carry forward. It’s not just symbolic. It’s a way of putting words to what we’re asking God to do.

This has been a big year. For many of us, it’s included the 40 days of prayer, fasting, and focusing on life in Christ—rediscovering that everything we need for life, purpose, healing, and identity is found in Jesus. And yet, some of you may be sitting here thinking, “I sought God. I prayed. I fasted. But not much seems to have changed. I’m still struggling. The breakthrough didn’t come.”

If that’s you, I want you to hear this clearly: God is not finished.

The year may be ending. The 40 days may be over. But God’s work in you is not finished. Philippians 1:6 says it plainly: He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. God is still working. He’s still forming you. He’s still setting you free.

Sometimes we reduce the gospel to forgiveness alone—and forgiveness is central—but it’s not the whole story. Jesus’ death was for the forgiveness of your sins. His resurrection was for your freedom from the power of sin. And His ascension was so He could send the Holy Spirit to fill and empower you. Forgiveness is not the finish line. Freedom and transformation are part of God’s ongoing work in your life.

The Holy Spirit comes alongside us as our advocate and helper. I think of it like a pacer in a long-distance race—someone who knows the course, knows the finish line, and runs with you to help you keep going. That’s what the Spirit does. He doesn’t abandon you when it gets painful or hard. He stays with you and says, “Come on. God’s not finished yet.”

This leads us to Jesus’ words in Matthew 9 about new wine and new wineskins. New wine cannot be poured into old wineskins without bursting them. The point is simple: God wants to do something new, but the old ways can’t contain it. We can’t cling to old mindsets, habits, identities, or patterns and expect the fullness of what God is pouring out.

The Pharisees lived under the old covenant of law and human effort—trying harder, doing more, proving themselves. Jesus announces something new: a covenant of grace. Humanity had been stretched to capacity. Trying harder is not the answer. Letting go is.

So as we finish the year, the question is not, “What more must I do?” The question is, “What do I need to let go of?” An old mindset. A habit. A lie you’ve believed. A comfort that’s holding you back.

Paul understood this when he said, forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal. You cannot step into the new, while clinging to the old.

God is not finished with you. He has given you a new heart, His Spirit, and the power to change. Let’s finish the year by letting go of what’s old, so He can pour new wine into our lives—and carry us forward into all He has prepared.